Ms. Berry and four other commissioners on the eight-member civil rights panel contend that Ms. Wilson was appointed by President Bill Clinton to a six-year term in 2000. The Bush administration and the three Republican-appointed commissioners say Ms. Wilson's term expired Nov. 29, at the end of the term of the commissioner she replaced, the late Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr.

If Mr. Kirsanow is seated, the commission would shift from a 5-to-3 split that generally supports Ms. Berry to a 4-to-4 split that would probably deadlock on controversial issues like the disputed presidential election in Florida.

The commission has no enforcement power, but publicizes civil rights problems it perceives in government policy and agencies.

A lawsuit by the Justice Department to seat Mr. Kirsanow is moving ahead in federal court. The commission meets on Friday and Mr. Kirsanow plans to attend, his lawyers said.